Upholstery and securing means therefor



M y 1934; P. N. MILLER ET AL 1,960,949

UPHOLSTERY AND SECURING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 24, 1931 INVENTORS,GEORGE TRAUTVETTER PEARLE N. MXLLER ATTORNEY.

Patented May 29, 1934 UNITED STATES I UPI IOLSTERY AND SECURING MEANSTHEREFOR Pearle N. Miller, Detroit, Mich., and George Trautvetter,Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September24, 1931, Serial No. 564,736

. 6 Claims.

The invention relates to automobile body walls and particularly to theattachment of upholstery pads to the inside walls thereof.

It is an object of our invention to provide an upholstery pad which canbe readily stacked .in its finished state ready. for application and toprovide means on said pad and the wall to which it is to be attachedwhereby the same can be readily applied without the use of separatefastener means and in which the fastening will be wholly concealed bythe pad.

To this end the upholstery pad is provided along its edges with metalclips having a hooked portion. adapted tocoact with integral tabs struckout from the metal of the inner panel or framework of the part of thebody to be upholstered. 1 I

Other objects and advantages and the construction whereby they areattained will become apparent from the following detailed specificationwhen read in connection with the drawing forming a part hereof.

In the drawing, f

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a door to which the inventioniis shownapplied, as it appears prior to the application of the upholstery pad.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of an upholstery pad according to theinvention.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are cross sectional views showing a manner in which theupholstery pad may be applied, Figures 3 and 4 showing successive stepsin the application, and Figure 5 showing the final assembly of theparts.

Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary detail views on an enlarged scale,respectively, of the edge of the upholstery pad and of the door edge.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to Fig. 2 showing aslightly modified construction.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration, the doorto which the invention is shown applied is constructed mainly of twosheet metal panels, the outer panel 10 and the inner panel 11, thelatter of which forming the transverse rails 12 of the door over theoutwardly extending edge flange 13 of which the outer edges of the outerpanel iii are crimped and secured in the usual way.

In order to provide room iorthe fastening means which avoidsinterference with the flat seating oi the upholstery pad, designated asa whole by reference numeral 14, against the inner panel, the innerpanel is provided in the regions where the improved fastening means isto be mod, as at the sides and hottom oi the door, with shallowdepressions 15 adjacent the edge of the door, in this instance, runningall the way around the sides and bottom of the panel 11 below the windowopening. In these depressed portions 15,

the metal of the panel is formed with spaced struck-out tabs 16, whichproject inwardly and laterally away from the edge of the door. Thesetabs are thus protected in large measure against deformation in thehandling and shipping of the doors prior to the assembly of theupholstery therewith due to their location within the depressed portions15 of the panel 11.

The upholstery pad is constructed in the usual manner of a stillcardboard or other backing 17 shaped to fit the edges of the door,covered by an upholstery fabric 18, which is drawn over the edges of thebacking and glued or otherwise secured in a usual manner along its edgesto the rear of the backing.

' Prior to the application of the upholstery fabric 7 over the edges ofthe backing, metal strips .19 having their outer edges reversely bentover the side and bottom edges of the backing 17 are securely crimpeddown upon the backing as shown to firmly secure them thereto. Thesemetal strips 0 19 have their inner edges reversely bent at 20 intohook-shaped section, these hook-shaped portions 20 cooperating with thetabs 16, in the final assembly to hold the pad securely in place.

The pad may readily be applied by first placing it in position againstthe panel with the lower edge thereof a slight distance above the loweredge of the door, so that the hook-shaped portion 20 of the lower strip19 is above the series of tabs across the bottom of the door out ofengagement 0 therewith.

The pad is then placed with the hooked portion 20 of one side strip 19engaging under the tabs 16 at one side of the door as shown in Fig." 1,after which the pad is flexed outwardly, as shown in Fig. 2 to permitthe hooked portion 20 on the opposite sides of the door to be engagedunder the tabs 16 on that side, the inherent resiliency of the pad, orthe inherent tendency to flatten out, bringing the hooked portions intofull engagement under the tabs as shown in Fig. 5.

After this engagement at the sides, the upholstery pad, as a whole isslid downwardly, to engage the lower strip 19 with the lower series oftabs 16, the pad being then securely held by wholly concealed fasteningmeans along the sides and bottom. At the top the pad may be held inplace by the usual moulding at the bottom of the window opening, (notshown).

it desired, the pads and hooks, which are made i of sheet steel suitablefor drawing operations, or other equivalent metal deformable underpressure and staying in such deformed position, when deformed, may besecurely interlocked in a manner to avoid all possibility of loosenessor shifting of the pad after application as described, by applyingpressure to the outside of the upholstery pad suflicient to deform thetabs and press them down toward the bottom of the depression.

Instead of having the hooked metal strips 19 extend substantiallycontinuously along one side of the pad, the invention also includes theuse of spaced narrow strips 19' as shown in Fig. 8, one for each tab 16,these strips being somewhat wider than the tabs to permit the slightshifting downwardly of the pad, after assembly at the sides, to engagethe bottom tabs, as hereinbefore described.

By the use of the fastening means described the upholstery pads may bereadily stacked without injury to the upholstery fabric since the hookedportions 20 extend substantially parallel to the pad and hence do notdig into the fabric when stacked. The fastening means is entirelyhidden, and the pad is held flatly, securely and snugly against the doorpanel at the edges as well as in the center.

While we have herein described one specific form of the invention and aspecific application, it will be understood that various modificationsand adaptations thereof can be used without departing from the spiritand scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a body construction, a frame of pressed metal having integral tabsstruck out from the metal adjacent the margins thereof, an upholsterypad including a backing and covering thereon, and metal clips havingportions clamped over the e upholstery backing and concealed as to theirouter portions by the covering and having portions arranged to be hookedunder the tabs.

2. In a body construction, an inner sheet metal frame panel having tabsstruck therefrom adjacent its periphery projecting inwardly of theperiphery, and an upholstery pad including a backing and coveringtherefor having metal clips secured to the edge of the backing andconcealed as to their outer portions by the covering and having portionsreversely bent and arranged to be hooked under the tabs.

3. In a body construction, an inner sheet metal frame panel providedwith a depressed portion just inside its periphery and tabs struck outof the metal of said depressed portion extending in- Wardly of the bodyof the panel, and an upholstery pad having instrumentalities secured toits edge and formed with a hooked portion engaging under the tabs.

4. A sheet metal door panel forming the inner wall and side rails of adoor, and formed adjacent its margins with a depressed portion andintegral tabs formed in said depressed portion and extending inwardly ofthe body of the door and inwardly of its margins, said tabs formingmeans for securing an upholstery pad.

5. A door frame having its inner frame portion depressed adjacent itsmargins below the marginal portion and provided in said depressedportions with integral struck out tabs for securing an upholstery pad.

6. In a body construction, an inner sheet metal frame panel providedwith a depressed portion inside its periphery, integral fastening meansstruck out from said frame panel, and an upholstery pad carrying at itsedges fastening clips having hooked portions projecting into saiddepressed portions and cooperating with'said integral fastening means tosecure the pad to the panel.

PEARLE N. MILLER. GEORGE TRAUTVE'I'IER.

